Usain Bolt’s agent, Ricky Simms, has described the Government’s tax rules for
high-earning overseas sports stars as “completely crazy” because athletes
such as Bolt face a tax bill that far outweighs their British earnings.

Out of pocket: Rafael Nadal has, like Usain Bolt, made public criticism of the punitive tax regulations in the UKPhoto: GETTY IMAGES

“It’s like me asking you to come to work today and pay me three times what you’re getting,” said Simms.

“For anyone who earns over a million dollars a year, it doesn’t make sense for them to come to Britain.”

Like most countries, the UK charges tax on appearance fees and prize money when non-resident athletes compete in Britain but, unlike many other countries, it also seeks to tax the athlete’s global endorsement income.

Based on the number of days spent competing in the UK, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs charges tax on a percentage of the athlete’s income earned elsewhere.

For big earners such as Bolt, whose endorsements include a £12.5 million sponsorship deal with footwear and clothing company Puma, even a small percentage of his worldwide earnings can far exceed what he could earn in Britain.

He is not the only sportsman to have complained about being left out of pocket by the rules. Golfer Sergio García and tennis player Rafael Nadal have also made public criticisms of the punitive tax regulations.

Like Bolt, Nadal has avoided being penalised by missing the UK’s pre-Wimbledon grass-court tournaments and opting to compete on grass in Germany instead.

“I am playing in the UK and losing money,” complained Nadal. “I did a lot more for the last four years, but it is more and more difficult to play in the UK.”

Bolt’s only competitive appearance in Britain since 2009 came at the London Olympics because the Government put in place a tax exemption for non-resident athletes that ran from March 30 to Nov 8 last year.

The amnesty was a condition of London’s contract with the International Olympic Committee.